Until We Bleed
by Lioness Rawr
Summary: AU. An annual gathering of presentations from world-class surgeons wields a particular "twig surgeon" that dazzles the Seattle Grace group, Callie in particular.
1. Twigs and Tape

Author's Note: So as I lay in bed trying to sleep, I started wondering what story I could come up with for my beloved Grey's pairing and it got to the point where instead of instinctively trying to get some rest, I was planning little things like what facial expressions Callie would have if... you get the jist. This is what I came up with, enjoy and do review if you can so I know whether to continue this and how.. thanks!

* * *

"I don't understand why we had to come to this stupid convention anyway, right about now Avery is wrist deep in my patient's chest and to be honest, I fear for that poor woman's life, I mean—" , Yang's whisper wasn't as quiet as she first thought; earning an authoritative throat clearing from Chief Webber who is sitting behind her in the large theatre.

"Dr. Yang, if I were you, I would be honoured to be at this event, some of the greatest surgeons around the world gather here to display their cases and techniques." Webber raises his eyebrows to further his point but sighs when the words are clearly lost on Christina Yang, her face unchanged; Meredith begins to giggle at her side.

"I could be advancing my own techniques on my own cases right now, _ground-breaking_ techniques. You may never get to know what miracles I was going to perform in the O.R today... Chief." She replies with her usual ego spurred quick wit, only encouraged by her best friends sniggering. Derek watches the exchange, thoroughly amused and nudging Mark who in turn nudges Callie – it was a much needed break from listening to, thus far, pretty boring presentations from the lesser attractive surgeons (as Mark put it nicely).

When Chief Webber leans in slowly to respond, it gains both Alex's and Miranda's attentions seated on the other side of him.

"Can you save a dying patient with nothing more but a scalpel, some twigs, tape and a suture kit, Dr. Yang? Maybe you'll learn how to, right here." Sitting back comfortably in his chair, Webber smiled and crossed his arms.

Christina looked dumbfounded albeit slightly (only slightly) impressed, as did most of the surgeons listening in on the whispered conversation.

"No, but I have to say that sounds pretty unsanitary even by Mercy West standards." The ruckus of hushed laughter amongst the Seattle Grace surgeons managed to make the current speaker pause and glare.

* * *

Callie looked mournfully at her empty cup of coffee and decided that once the lights shine up again, signalling for a break, she was going to get up and gallop out of the theatre before her mind implodes from sheer boredom. Only to refill her drink and return to her seat later but she wasn't thinking that far ahead, nor did she want to. She still can't believe Mark abandoned her, leaving for the break ten minutes early – his reasoning being "because I can" and fair enough, she respected him for that but she hadn't realised how bored she would be without him by her side. Up until now, they'd been pointing out surgeons that looked hot from behind or at least the backs of their heads, betting on it even added some thrill.

"Yes, thank go—I mean excuse me." She gets up and quickly shuffles through the row of seats as the lighting begins to slowly brighten. Bursting through the double doors into a room filled with free coffee and sugary snacks is enough to make Callie grin and take a deep fresh breath of air; she scans the room for Mark and spots him fiddling with a coffee machine, with that, she makes a beeline towards him before the crowd filters through.

"Excuse me! Sorry.. Dr. umm," Callie feels the sleeve of her dazzling black top getting a good tug at her side and swiftly turns on her heel to chastise whoever it is that's stretching the expensive fabric but the words get stuck in her throat.

"..Torres, Dr. Torres." A blonde excitedly reads her name badge, and waits for what looks like approval. Callie doesn't have much time to observe the surgeon but she quickly darts her eyes over to check the name in time to respond.

"Dr. Robbins?" She drawls out unsurely, but the creases in her forehead smooth out and an inkling of a smile starts when she notices how pleasantly surprised the other surgeon is when referred to by her name.

"Yep! Name badges are pretty cool aren't they?" Dr. Robbins leans in and whispers her opinion on name badges to Callie and for a split second, the Latina isn't sure as to whether she should simply turn and power walk to Mark or find out what this random woman wants. The blonde seems to pick up on the undecided demeanour and adjusts her behaviour just a touch.

"Sorry, I was just trying to get your attention because you dropped your necklace; it's stunning by the way." As if out of nowhere, Dr. Robbins lifts her hand and sure enough, Callie's amber pendant is sitting, looking vibrant as ever in the blonde's palm.

"Oh wow," Her hand flies up to her neck which is now bare and she begins shaking her head at herself.

"I don't miss a thing in my O.R and yet given the simple task of wearing a necklace one afternoon and I'm all over the shop," Callie laughs at herself whilst putting the rogue accessory back on, finally, adjusting her hair she settles and smiles genuinely at Dr. Robbins – who still looks terribly enthusiastic for no apparent reason.

"Thank you, so much. This is actually one of my prized possessions." Callie rubs the pendant with affection and mulls over whether so much perkiness in another person is unsettling or comforting.

"I had a feeling it was a necklace with a story, amber is it?" The blonde replies whilst squinting at the precious stone with more concentration. Taken aback with the accuracy of the guess, Callie decides that the abundance of energy_ is_ comforting after all, which probably has something to do with the fact that Dr. Robbins is the first person to recognise the stone.

"It is actually, I'm impressed!" Callie begins to match the positivity exchange in the conversation whilst a knowing grin warms the blonde's features upon discovering she was indeed right. Callie's attention drifts as she hears huffs and puffs somewhere in the distance that are unmistakably Mark's, her head automatically turns to glance over and she absentmindedly tunes out Dr. Robbins who is talking about children and amber or something.

She snaps back when a silence settles in next to her - the blonde is now sporting a smirk and too, glancing at Mark.

"Checking out Dr. Jaw-Line huh?" Callie laughs and shakes her head, trying to dismiss what it looked like she was doing.

"No no, he's my best friend... though I do still check him out every so often." She grins and tries to place the keywords she missed in the conversation, something about Africa, amber and markets oh _and_ children – she's not sure how they're connected but smiles as if she heard every word anyway.

"Well he _is_ a very pretty man." Dr. Robbins nods and gives Mark another once over before peering down at her watch and pulling a face. Callie worries she's offended the blonde with her inability to pay attention and feels unexpectedly worse than she ought to.

"I'm sorry, I have to run and go through my presentation one last time before tackling the huge room of disgruntled surgeons soon… Arizona." The perky woman extends her hand and it takes Callie one second too long to realise that it's a name rather than some kind of geography-related Tourette's syndrome.

"Callie, Callie Torres." She takes Arizona's hand and realises that her moment of stupidity went unnoticed or maybe even ignored (which earns the blonde extra points in Callie's good-books, nobody wants to look like a moron; especially not a self-proclaimed ortho rockstar) so she offers a genuine ear to ear smile and tries to offer an olive branch.

"Good luck, and don't worry _Arizona,_ I'll be sure to be the first to clap." She emphasises the blonde's name and the same excitement displayed on Arizona's face when Callie read her name badge just a minute earlier washes over her face once more. It's like being around a puppy, she thinks, it's endearing, she confirms.

With that, Dr. Arizona Robbins nods, says her thanks and vanishes faster than she appeared. Callie catches herself recollecting the sudden conversation with interest until Mark swaggers up to her side sipping his coffee and announcing his presence with a murmur of something surely unimportant.

"What?" Callie snaps out of her daydream, looks up at him and then back down at her sad, empty cup – the one she desperately wanted to fill until Dr. Robbi—Arizona distracted her.

"I _said_ who was that hot blonde with the bounce in her step you were talking to?" Mark waggles his eyebrows in interest and starts to down his drink.

"Hah, no, she's too nice and excitable to be tarnished by the likes of you... let me have some of that." She snatches the cup out of Mark's hand and peers at what's left inside it.

"It's tea. I broke the coffee maker."

Callie rolls her eyes and pushes it back into his chest, muttering something in Spanish under her breath.

"I thought we agreed on the no foreign insults thing Torres, besides, maybe _goldilocks_ can add a McBounce to your step instead of the coffee." His smirk spread across chiselled features ever so proudly (he'd managed to weave a 'McSomething' into his sentence after the two of them discussed his nickname and pondered what Callie's nickname would be earlier – for that, Mark gave himself a mental pat on the back, particularly since suggesting McBouncy had an effect on McSpanish, god there he goes again, "I'm on a roll" he thinks as he wistfully takes another sip of his wretched tea).

"I don't need a McBounce to my step and her name is Arizona." Callie half-heartedly glares up at him and watches him sputter on his mouthful when hearing what her name actually is. She knows his brain must be ready to explode with all kinds of jokes, mainly filthy ones so she runs off before he begins to string them together out loud. She takes two steps before the familiar call of "Torrrrrrres!" reaches her ears but she keeps walking.

"I hear it's sunny in Arizona…" She hears in the distance, then a hearty laugh – she keeps a straight face for about three seconds before cracking up to herself in search of another coffee maker. She's not sure what's funnier, how terrible the joke is, the fact that Arizona as a person is most definitely sunny or that the thought of sleeping with her was actually the first thing that went through her mind as she initially turned around at the incessant tugging of her top.

Now isn't the time to think about these things though, her cup is empty and if she doesn't find a working coffee maker soon she'll pummel Mark with her angry ortho fists.

* * *

Oh come on, you want to review.. yeah you do. Go on.


	2. Breaking Bones

A/N: Hello again, after some positive reviews I decided to continue this on so thanks to all that gave me feedback, I truly do appreciate it. I've been writing this chapter well into the early hours of a few mornings so if there are any mistakes, I apologise. Without further ado - enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, not the characters, not the show; and most unfortunately, I don't even own any alcohol at the moment.

* * *

It takes a while for the theatre to settle after the break, a giant hall full of antsy surgeons armed with caffeine doesn't create the best of audiences but Arizona already knew that. In this moment she ponders how much easier it would be to fly back to Malawi and spontaneously save some very ill-fated children.

"Dr. Robbins? You're on in half an hour, are you prepared?" A young woman interrupts Arizona's train of thought and waits for confirmation, pen hovering over a clipboard.

"Yes, yes I am." The surgeon replies with more confidence than she contains - knows only too well that there's no room for hesitance in this career and now it seems to be somewhat of a reflex.

The rush of activity behind the small woman checking her name off catches her attention, she's thoroughly impressed with how well organised and timely the event is considering most of the speakers are running around like headless chickens behind closed doors.

"You're running a tight ship here, keep up the good work," Arizona comments positively and gives the girl a reassuring smile before peering down at her flashcards once more, she catches herself though – there's no need, she's got this.

* * *

"Alex Karev, if you continue to rip apart that polystyrene cup any further I swear to the sun in the sky I will make you _eat_ it." Bailey isn't one for putting up with incessant shredding sounds by her ear, least of all from someone as impatient as Karev. Sighing, he dutifully puts the cup down below his seat, making sure to air his unhappiness by slumping back and sulking, the uncomfortable chair not making it any easier for him.

Meredith leans towards Christina and points to the pamphlet littered with endless lists of names and topics for the afternoon. "I think they saved all the semi-interesting presentations for now."

Taking a glance at the sheet of paper, Callie reaches down and plucks it from the residents hand effortlessly, earning a noise of complaint from Grey, which is swiftly silenced with one sharp look from the attending.

"I don't see how it can get any _less_ interesting anyway." Yang adds with somewhat renewed pessimism after the short break, Meredith humming in agreement.

"I'd like to see what the two of you could muster on that stage, give the speakers some respect – god knows it's not easy presenting to a room filled with surgeons like the pair of you." Callie interjects bitterly, considering briefly having to be on stage – the fleeting thought alone manages to send shivers down her spine. She hears Mark stifle a chuckle and rolls her eyes at what she knows is running through his mind, for a second she wonders why she even told him that Arizona will be speaking later.

"Thank you Dr. Torres," Chief Webber makes a point of putting the residents back into place.

Callie mumbles a response something akin to "no problem" but she's far too busy scanning the rumpled sheet of paper, stopping when Mark sniggers by her ear once more.

"It makes sense… McBouncy is a peds surgeon," He furthers his observation by pointing out her name and title on the pamphlet, grinning when Callie's eyes widen, though she doesn't have time to respond since the lights are beginning to dim and the theatre starts to fall silent.

Meredith was right; the following speaker is indeed a lot more captivating than all previous ones; in fact, he even manages to get Christina to sit on the edge of her seat as he describes a particularly rare cardiothoracic case. Callie however, has difficulty concentrating as her thoughts stray back to the conversation she had with Arizona earlier, or rather, the one ironically enough – she wasn't paying attention to. To her delight, the leaflet answers some of her questions, 'Developments in Malawi' being the blondes topic explains the mention of Africa and children but before she has the chance to mull over any more detective work, a round of applause – spearheaded by Yang of course, brings her back to earth.

Surely enough, Dr. Arizona Robbins walks on stage soon after and Callie finds herself holding her breath – this fear of public speaking extends to second hand embarrassment of the worst degree. Though, it's useless really, when she realises that it was Arizona that managed to save a dying child in Africa with few medical supplies and an astonishingly appropriate sized twig. It seems she's not the only one to put two and two together.

"_That's_ the twig surgeon?" Christina asks Meredith with an absolutely flabbergasted look on her face. "She looks like she owns a pet unicorn—" Callie opens her mouth to shush Yang but is delightfully surprised when Karev beats her to it, his demeanor completely different now, leaning in and paying attention closely to what Robbins is saying. Making a mental note to reward Alex with a chance to scrub in on her lumbar spinal fusion tomorrow, Callie follows suit and watches the way Arizona's golden hair moves with every step she makes.

Callie has always gravitated towards powerful women, that's the one thing she definitely has in common with her father. It's why she clicked effortlessly with Addison, it's why she respects Miranda so much and it's what initially attracted her to Erica. So she tries to piece together what it is about Arizona that is making her legs go wobbly even though she's seated, the blonde certainly isn't as cutthroat as most of the women she knows but she's incredibly ballsy – maybe that's it.

"His fall was so severe that I had to imminently break both his fibula and tibia in order to free his leg.." Robbins continues to enthral the audience with her heroic story and Callie almost lets loose a moan during the mention of bones breaking at the hands of Arizona. Mark plays his part too, quickly finding the wooden stirrer for his old coffee and snapping it accordingly; every good surgical tale needs sound effects he figures, Callie throws him a grin in response and he can tell she's a goner… crazy ortho surgeons and their lust for broken bones, she is damn near dribbling all over herself and he'd like to find it sickening but her smile is too contagious.

With bated breath, Callie waits for Arizona to finish her last sentence.

Fuck it, she stands and begins to clap before the blonde has time to say thank you for listening and Karev doesn't miss a beat, joining her up on his feet – with that, it's not long before the entire auditorium follows suit.

Callie fails to realise she stopped clapping the second Arizona's eyes connected with hers, dimples etched into the blonde's shining grin, she nods in acknowledgement at Callie through sea of applause before displaying her curtsy and walking off stage with her head held high.

* * *

She knows she should have brought them. Sighing at herself, she opens the nearest fire exit and slips out, looking for a nearby smoker. Grudgingly, she approaches a young guy daydreaming with a burning cigarette in his hand, she recognises him as one of the tech crew members.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your moment of self-reflection, but is there any chance that I.. could get a cigarette?" She asks, her voice trembling slightly – adrenaline still pumping through her body like battery acid.

The boy looks stunned, taking the time to check out her badge.

"What kind of surgeon smokes?" He replies with curiousity whilst slowly offering her the pack.

Lifting the cigarette to her lips, she lights it and takes a long first drag before taking a moment to answer his question.

"Being a surgeon and being a human-being aren't mutually exclusive, I have bad habits too – besides, I _rocked_ that presentation!" She inhales once more and high fives him over-enthusiastically (it's safe to say the post presentation high is kicking in, besides, being excited is what she _does_), his face visibly lights up and they share a moment as strangers before going back into the frenzy inside.

"Time to find a job," Arizona mutters to herself as she sprays perfume and practices her winning smile in the mirror. For a brief second, her mind drifts to Callie, who had been the first to clap for her just as promised; grinning at herself she shakes her head and tries to think about her career, her hand now on the handle to the door separating her from several potential bosses that she has to woo.

Deep breath in.


	3. Small World

**My apologies for the long wait, I had some uni work to do over the summer but am now on holiday so I have time to continue this story. I'm very appreciative of all your reviews and words of encouragement, I struggle daily with writers block but if pushed enough - I can churn out chapter after chapter. I wrote this in the middle of the night so all mistakes are mine, I even accidentally published the chapter without reading through it properly so I had to take it down and re-upload it; I'm a walking tragedy. Without further delay, enjoy the read!**

**I own nothing but the sunburn on my cheeks right now.**

* * *

Sipping at her caramel macchiato gingerly, Arizona narrows her eyes at the sheets of paper splayed out in front of her in hope for some kind of sign from the heavens. By this point, she might as well throw one of those brown sugar sachets in the air and watch where it lands; thinking against it when she spots Holly walk into the café.

Dusting the snow off her hat and wordlessly glancing at Arizona's display of a poor decision making process, Holly takes in the individual sheets of paper representing each hospital she has yet to pick.

"You've got it too good, I think," The brunette comments whilst eyeing Arizona's defeated looking face.

"What?" Arizona's voice now far too monotonous for her usual self, eyes still firmly focused on all the pros and cons of each hospital. Snapping out of the trance, she offers Holly a smile as the petite woman takes a seat across from her, after a beat, she comes up with what she thinks is the best idea she's had all day. "You decide, for me."

Raising an eyebrow, the other surgeon opens her mouth once, twice, and then presses her lips together in thought. "Once my dad took me to the pound to pick out our dog-to-be, we were there for a few hours – the longer we stayed the less confidence I had in deciding which dog to take home. Eventually I told him to pick, rationalising that his wisdom would outweigh my ability to choose... I was a pretty sensible eight year old. He picked Dumbo and a few months later, Dumbo died due to some underlying illnesses." Holly sat back and frowned, her forehead creasing in her signature worry line.

"Okay, I see… so…" Arizona's eyes begin to narrow, trying to nudge the story along to the important part.

"Basically, deep down, I held a grudge against him for making the decision, to this day I think. I reckon Dumbo accounts for some of my adult attachment issues."

Arizona tilts her head in thought and slowly nods, getting the gist. She has infinite faith in Holly's judgement, which has saved her from many ridiculous mistakes in the past. First meeting at med school, both being particularly bright and talented – the pair ended up gravitating towards one other; some would argue that anyone attending Hopkins is both bright and talented but Arizona firmly disagrees.

"However, I _am_ visiting Seattle Grace next week if you want to tag along?" Holly offers in a casual tone, Arizona on the other hand knows better; the brunettes fidgeting and sudden need to consistently clear her throat suggests a motive. A motive she's well aware of.

"Hmm. Derek Shepherd enticing you with his attempts to cure Alzheimer's?" Arizona has always prided herself over being very up to date with surgical news.

"You know me well." Holly says with a smirk, looking down at the sheets of paper her phone buzzes before she can comment on the overly cursive font used, "Dr. Holly Bayliss speaking," she signals for Arizona to stay put and heads somewhere quieter to continue her phone call.

Fiddling with a sachet of sugar and now tapping her foot with growing frustration, Arizona decides to throw the condiment in the air and closes her eyes. Waiting a moment, she chastises herself for being so pathetic but once she peeks down at the table with one eye and spots the brown sugar smack bang in the middle of Seattle Grace's page, she can't help but look around in case anyone is messing with her.

* * *

Holly pats her knee reassuringly once the plane begins moving and Arizona takes a deep breath in before offering a half-hearted smile in return.

"I hate flying." The blonde mumbles and closes her eyes. Hearing rustling by her side, she warily opens them again and watches as Holly unceremoniously throws a paper bag onto her lap. Analysing it curiously, she stifles a loud laugh when she realises it's a donut.

* * *

Thoroughly impressed, taking in the sights of Seattle Grace whilst following Chief Webber and Holly who are discussing future projects at the hospital animatedly – Arizona stops paying attention to their conversation once it becomes too neuro for her interests.

Observing the hustle and bustle of the hospital, she spots a sign for the PEDs ward and clears her throat, urging the pair in front of her to turn and in response they offer apologetic smiles for somewhat leaving her trudging behind.

"Sorry to interrupt—Chief Webber, is it alright if I wander through to the paediatrics ward? I don't mind going alone."

"Of course, please, explore as you wish – I can get someone to give you a full tour of the department—" Webber gains the attention of a passing resident with a swift bellow of their name; the authority issued almost unsettles her but simultaneously makes her feel right at home and a ghost of a smile reaches her lips.

"No, no, it's alright, I like to get a feel for places by walking around at my own pace," She takes one more glance at the sign and smiles before pointing her thumb towards the PEDs wing, walking backwards slowly.

"Holly, I'll meet you here in half an hour?" The brunette nods, winking before continuing her conversation with the chief.

* * *

She stands and observes a colourful wall covered in pictures of children of all ages, the smile on her face almost hurts her cheeks but she can't help it; the reason she loves her job so much is displayed right in front of her, the joy.

"Africa!" A gruff voice exclaims unsurely behind her and she turns on her heel, grin intact now joined by a raised eyebrow. The doctor shakes his head and composes himself, taking place by her side and now too, watching the wall – they share a silent moment, almost mesmerized by it.

"You're the surgeon that went to Malawi right? Dr. Twig." He asks with suppressed enthusiasm, stuffing his hands into his pockets. Arizona laughs at her supposed nick name and blushes slightly at the recognition, nodding.

"Dr. Arizona Robbins, actually... but I guess I can work with Dr. Twig," the blonde offers her hand politely, feeling a little like a celebrity.

"Dr. Alex Karev," he shakes her hand, grinning, "I was at the conference, I saw what you did – I have to admit it was pretty damn cool," realising how much he is gushing, Karev quickly clears his throat and leans back into his day-to-day casual posture, much to the female surgeons amusement.

"Thank you! It was a while ago, I'm super flattered you even remember," Arizona replies and watches as Karev's pager goes off much to his dismay.

Pacing backwards towards his 911 page he raises his eyebrows hopefully, "we need a new head of PEDs" before she knows it, the man turns a corner and is swallowed by the rush of surgery.

She likes it here.

* * *

Stabbing the cherry tomato with her plastic fork, Callie lets out a heavy sigh.

"Rough day?" Mark queries, his smile thinly veiling the exasperation he's feeling too. The pair of them started their shift early in the morning to what seems to be a never ending day of accidents in the city of Seattle.

"Mm." Callie chews and begins to push the food in front of her around with an alarmingly low amount of energy.

"How can a gas station even explode in this day and age? You'd think health and safety would at least _try_ to put effort into their job. What a pathetic career. Worse than dermo." Christina adds whilst rummaging through her bag of mini pretzels.

The ER had been full of burn victims, missing limbs and screams all morning – leaving the surgeons absolutely drained come lunch time. The three of them don't even acknowledge Alex as he sits at the table, shaking his bottle of juice and glancing at the sad bunch. As he begins to shovel food into his mouth, his eyes light up and he mumbles something through his pasta with renewed vigour.

"Don't talk with your mouth full; you look like a Neanderthal, Karev." Mark comments with a look of disgust, earning a short chuckle from Callie by his side.

Rolling his eyes, Alex quickly processes his food and takes a sip of his drink whilst glaring at the plastic surgeon across from him. "I saw Dr. Twig earlier, hanging around the PEDs ward." With that, Callie instantly perks up and slyly glances at Mark who smirks in response.

"Is she discovering what actual surgical tools look like or did she get lost on the way to the park?" Christina replies without missing a beat, making the group all crack a smile.

"Starks contract is up, about freaking time too, I _hate_ that guy." Alex adds bitterly, receiving a unison hum of agreement from everyone else.

"So, is she here for the job?" Callie asks, feigning the lack of interest and pretending to treat the topic as small chat, making her best friend grin by her side, he knows only too well.

"I hope so; that way I might actually get into an OR for once instead of being some douche bags personal assistant – yesterday I didn't get to scrub in on a rhabdomyosarcoma because I forgot his god damn coffee." Karev replies with obvious frustration, slamming his drink on the table.

"Rhabdomyosarcoma? Wow, maybe I should give PEDs a shot." Christina interjects, earning a roar of laughter from the other surgeons; upon eyeing them vindictively, she shrugs. "Or not."

* * *

"So, what do you think?" Holly asks as she watches the blonde approach with a thoughtful look in her eyes.

"I like it.. a _lot_." Arizona remarks, almost to herself as she continues to mull everything over in her head. Snapping out of her train of thought, she glances at Holly who's watching her with a smirk that almost makes her blush. "What about you?"

"I signed a contract with Webber five minutes ago.." The brunette states with a smug grin and excitement dancing in her big brown doe eyes. Arizona makes no effort to conceal her shock as she jerks back, eyebrows almost hitting her hairline. "_What_? You were late! ...Probably regaling an ill-fated child with a magical story or something." They both laugh when the PEDs surgeon hits her on the arm but just as quickly as it errupted, they settle down when the Chief strides up to them.

"Dr. Bayliss, I trust you've told Dr. Robbins the good news?" He asks with an accomplished smile gracing his features.

Holly nods with pride and nudges her friend forward, "I think Robbins might have some good news too." Arizona looks bashful for a second before letting a smile creep up on her.

"You're running a tight ship here, sir. It's a fantastic hospital… I was wondering if we could discuss—" Chief Webber had already put an arm around her shoulders, leading her towards his office with determination to fill the role Stark is (thankfully, although he won't admit it) leaving behind.

* * *

Arizona spots her talking to Dr. Shepherd like an excited puppy, his smile kind, looking genuinely interested in what she's babbling on about – the blonde begins to understand his appeal now as she approaches them, careful not to interrupt whatever neurological discussion they may be having.

The brunette doesn't miss a thing however, turning and grinning at her expectedly. "And…?"

"Say hello to the new Head of PEDs at Seattle Grace," Arizona replies, bouncing on her heels once in excitement – quickly turning to Shepherd who offers her a congratulations with a broad smile.

Once Holly introduces the two, she makes quick work of organizing a get together at Joe's with any surgeons available later, Derek promising to bring along a few people to celebrate the new additions to the Seattle Grace team before congratulating them once more and running off when his pager beeps.

"Joe's?" Arizona asks, eyebrows scrunched.

"It's a bar across the road everyone here goes to.." Holly begins to regale her with a story as they descend the stairs into the lobby about when she was here last and met a couple surgeons over a drink but Arizona's attention swiftly drifts as she spots a familiar face making her way through the hospital floor below them in a hurry, slipping into an elevator.

It takes a few seconds to place the memory and it strikes her when by chance, the raven-haired surgeon connects their eyes just as the doors start sliding shut. The split second of eye contact causes the two of them to smile at each other in acknowledgment and Arizona is pleasantly bewildered by how small the world can be.

Nodding absent-mindedly at Holly's story, Arizona comes to a conclusion.

She _definitely_ likes it here.


	4. Grapefruit Grope

**So this story is finally taking shape and I've got the framework down, I never knew I could be so organized. Anyway, now that I know where I'm heading and how with this thing – hopefully updates will become more frequent and/or lengthier. Do let me know what you think because at the end of the day, I'm just an amateur trying to sharpen my writing skills whilst letting my imagination run wild and reviews are extremely inspiring. Thank you for all of you following this story and enjoy!  
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* * *

Any potential awkwardness is non-existent with the aid of several rounds of eye-watering drinks between the surgeons. Derek managed to rope along both Mark and Meredith, who in turn convinced Christina to tag along and meet the freshly hired doctors sitting across from them.

Arizona prides herself over possessing the ability to handle large amounts of alcohol _and_ her dignity simultaneously, pondering that fact; she watches Holly miss her mouth with her glass and shakes her head whilst giggling to herself.

"Blondie, next round is yours," Mark states as he sets down his empty glass. She doesn't quite know what to think of him yet but the tequila she just necked (courtesy of Meredith, whom she has warmed to) makes her grin and skip over to the bar. The plastic surgeon has been hitting on her consistently throughout the night and as nice as she may be, her patience is wearing thin – luckily for her, Holly steps in just at the right moments in the conversation to distract him and other than this, she finds that she's actually having a good time.

Setting a tray of seemingly blushing pink cocktails down on the table, she eagerly hops back to her stool eyeing her new friends _and_ _if they're not her friends yet, they soon will be, _she thinks with a nod.

"What is _that_." Christina inspects her glass with an almost fearful frown but doesn't hesitate to take a large mouthful.

"This one's called grapefruit grope," Arizona states whilst blinking lazily and looking on as everyone begins to guzzle the new cocktail down – she takes a moment to appreciate that they all look like alcoholics.

Eventually, once most of the drunks have told a story of a particularly important surgery in their careers, the attention settles on the blonde. She has enjoyed getting to know each one of them through their inspiring tales and figures it was the perfect way to break the initial ice – her train of thought is interrupted when Christina looks at her expectedly and she realises something was said to her.

"What you did in Africa was admirable," The cardio surgeon repeats and finishes her drink with remarkable ability considering her size. Watching as Meredith raises an eyebrow at her best friend, Arizona gathers that compliments like this are out of character for the woman.

"Thank you. It was… an awesome experience." The blonde replies, her voice breaking slightly.

"The drink finally getting to you?" Holly quips and nudges her arm harder than intended, the alcohol obviously well and truly washed over the brunette.

"Mm, actually, I'm just going to go to the bathroom," With that, Arizona swivels and hops off with a slight stagger towards the back of the rowdy bar.

Holly watches her go and sips on the drink in her hand, turning back to the table when she hears Meredith stifle a laugh whilst trying to speak; "Admirable? I thought you were only capable of kissing the asses of cardio gods."

"She may shit rainbows but what she did out there was pretty hardcore," Christina states matter-of-factly with a dozy look on her face.

"PEDs is nothing but hardcore." Holly adds with a wide smile and begins to nod when Derek airs his agreement, beginning to tell the group about an 8-year-old with a rare brain disease he recently operated on.

* * *

Arizona lets out a breath and shakes her head at herself; it took far too long to fix her make up with her wobbly hands.

"You're drunk." She states and peers at herself in the mirror.

"And you're talking to yourself," Holly chimes – seemingly appearing out of nowhere and for a second, Arizona wonders whether the woman actually has secret powers because this sudden unannounced presence thing happens far too often.

"I'm going to head back to the hotel soon, I'm exhausted," Arizona says with a stretch, turning towards the brunette and leaning back against the sink. She's not surprised at the unsteady form in front of her; Holly could never keep up with her alcohol-wise, however, she _is_ startled by the heavy-lidded look she's being given.

The brunette takes a few wavering steps towards the sinks, washing her hands distractedly and Arizona's stomach turns because she knows what's going to happen next.

The kiss is unusually steady and well-coordinated; a miraculous feat considering Holly can barely stand and Arizona takes a second too long to respond to what's happening. She hopes it seems as though that's down to the alcohol when her mind is attempting to rationalise what's happening frantically.

She can think of a thousand reasons why she shouldn't let this happen and yet she kisses Holly back with more force than necessary.

* * *

Staggering up the stairs to his apartment, Mark whistles a tune he heard in the bar as the group was leaving to finally go home. He fiddles with his keys for an embarrassing amount of time, to make matters worse; he's made no progress in unlocking the door whatsoever.

Callie isn't impressed at the state of him, though she _is_ quite amused and continues to watch him struggle from her doorway. Drunk Mark is loud and extremely clumsy, neither make for good neighbourly traits when you get home at 3am from a long shift at work rebuilding necks and re-adjusting hips. Eventually, when she's had enough of silently chuckling behind his back, she clears her throat and he turns with a look on his face akin to a deer caught in the headlights.

"Oh don't mind me, you're doing great!" She remarks, her chest bubbling with silent laughter as he jingles his keys along with the tune he's whistling again. There's no time to do much else because he's got her in a bear hug and she pulls him into her apartment before he wakes everyone else up in the building.

Lying on her couch with a glass of water, he looks around the room and spots the clock.

"Holy shit, it's nearly five in the morning?" He almost jumps at the discovery and Callie rolls her eyes, uttering a confirmation through gritted teeth, the novelty of drunken Mark has now long-worn off and she's ready to fall into a coma from exhaustion.

"Hmm. You know, I think you may be in luck." Mark starts, obviously lost in a train of thought and it's becoming a real struggle keeping up with his sporadic conversations for the Latina.

"Really? Are you going to leave me alone and pass out now?" Callie can't help herself and grins at the childlike unruly look he shoots her.

"I was going to say how I think blondie may just be gay, but now I won't tell you." He obviously misses the flaw in his logic and downs the rest of his water.

"You _did_ just tell me and what got you to that conclusion?" Callie silently chastises herself for sounding so hopeful and doesn't even bother covering up the fact that when Mark mentions a 'blondie' she instantly assumes he's talking about Arizona.

"I was coming onto her all night and she was _not_ interested." He looks like a petulant child and it makes Callie roll her eyes and laugh. Before she has time to query him about any further details, his eyes droop and he sighs in a way that reminds her of just how tired she is too. With that, she pats him on the head and covers his limp body with a blanket, heading off to her bedroom whilst shaking her head and grudgingly pondering what else Mark learnt about the new head of PEDs at Seattle Grace (the acknowledgement of Arizona's role at the hospital makes her stomach tingle ever so slightly).

* * *

The morning light hurts.

Arizona winces whilst curling into herself - that is until she remembers the previous night, causing her to sit up immediately and release a breath when she realises she's in bed alone.

Once she feels a little more human after several glasses of water and a banana, she pads across the hall and knocks tentatively on Holly's door.

No answer. No surprise either.

She tries the handle and is startled to find that it's unlocked, though, upon thinking about it further – the fact they even made it back in one piece is more startling. Pushing the door open, she spots Holly sprawled out on the bed, sporting last night's clothes and remarkably still managing to look elegant in some way.

After some incessant poking and shaking, the smaller woman wakes up with a grunt and has the decency to look horrified at the state she's in. Eventually, after a swift room-service breakfast visit, the previous night is mentioned and Arizona fills the black hole in Holly's memory to the best of her ability.

"So then we all shared a taxi back and I pretty much carried you up here. You were out like a light the second your head hit the pillow." Arizona finishes with a bite of her croissant and glances up at the blushing woman in front of her.

"I'm sorry, about last night. I was drunk and—" Holly fumbles with an apology and raises her eyebrows when she's interrupted by the blonde sitting a few feet away at the end of her bed.

"Are you?" Arizona takes a sip of her orange juice and patiently waits for an answer before clarifying; "_sorry_ I mean, are you sorry about what you did or are you just saying that?" She's not sure where this courage to be so straight-forward is coming from, maybe it's the alcohol still in her system, either way – Holly also seems pretty stunned by the sudden interrogation but adapting to a situation is what she does best.

"No. I'm not sorry." She replies whilst fiddling with the bed covers and an uncomfortable silence blankets them.

"We can't go there again, Holly."

"Why? We mutually agreed to prioritise our careers last time but now, we're working at the same hospital and, well _why_ not?"

Arizona struggles with a response and looks to the ceiling for some kind of assistance with her inner turmoil.

They had been through these motions before; a strong friendship, a heavy night of drinking, a sudden kiss and then they were together for two months before Arizona won the Carter Madison grant. Once it was clear that the blonde was flying out to Malawi for three years, they parted as friends and there was no bad blood between them – something Arizona was extremely thankful for and it was a healthy reminder of why she liked Holly in the first place. When she returned after a year, she had happily ignored the nagging voice in her head telling her that Holly had more trouble getting over their relationship than she had (their time together was neither boring nor enthralling for the blonde – which ignited more guilt than she felt comfortable with) but now those unburied feelings are evident in Holly's eyes as she sits under the covers on the increasingly shrinking bed.

The silence grows and develops a sharpness that makes Arizona feel terribly uneasy because she _still_ can't answer the question hanging in the air. Holly suddenly gets up and states she's going for a shower because the hangover fumes coming off her will soon become flammable and Arizona wishes she could say thank you for the obvious life-line she's been thrown the but the speechlessness won't budge.

It's the simple sensitivity in Holly's character that makes Arizona come to a decision moments later and she joins the other woman in the shower silently (it's a shame this is because she still doesn't trust herself to open her mouth and reply). Ignoring the barrage of thoughts, worries and the lethal hangover in her head, she kisses Holly and locks everything away into an ever-growing box at the back of her mind.

She struggles to look at herself in the mirror later. Then realises her attempt to escape and go to work is shadowed by the fact that Holly is waiting for her so they can go together. The conflict grows when she's presented with her coffee, made just the way she likes it by the brunette.

It's these little things that betray her better judgement.


	5. Serenity

**So, I've typed this chapter whilst in the car, travelling through the entirety of the Balkans – in fact, I'm looking through the window and I see Croatian mountains at this very moment. This means I've had absolutely no wifi and all inaccuracies/mistakes are subject to my naivety and recent heat stroke. I will post this chapter when I snap up some wifi at a pit stop – however, this might be as far as Germany, if so, I apologize for the wait. I appreciate all reviews thrown my way; particularly the constructive ones letting me know what you like/dislike about each chapter, thank you all.  
**

* * *

Callie's day is slow for the first time this week. Even though she expects December to be chock full of broken bones – she's never prepared for just how exhausting it is. That's not to say she isn't expecting a sudden emergency in the pit any moment now but in this instant, she's thoroughly enjoying putting her feet up on the couch and reading a magazine in the lounge whilst Lexie handles her post-ops. So much so, that she's oblivious to Arizona slipping into the room.

"I wouldn't have pegged you for the trashy celebrity news type…" The sudden remark makes Callie jump and turn to see wonderful albeit tired blue eyes. Arizona smiles widely and nods towards the magazine, leaning in for a better look. Callie can't help but close her eyes briefly at the floral perfume that swims her way.

The orthopaedic surgeon's busy schedule hasn't given her the time or energy to track down and 'accidentally' run into Arizona since she joined the hospital. She had met Holly through a shared surgery two days ago and even though the smaller brunette is admittedly attractive, her eyes have been on the new head of Peds. Unfortunately for her, she's had to rely on information through Mark and Alex (who has seemingly snuggled himself under the blonde's guidance and teachings), both of them unable to contribute more than 'great boobs' and 'excitable'; something she had observed the first time they met. So now, when Arizona is looking down at her with a playful grin and a twinkle in her eye, she's somewhat caught off-guard.

"It's a guilty pleasure, this is the first time I've been able to breathe for days now," She explains whilst standing up and smiling dumbly at the shorter woman across from her.

"I can imagine the snow makes it pretty hectic for Ortho, and from what I hear; you're pretty good," Arizona comments and offers a lopsided grin before sipping at her coffee.

Callie opens her mouth to reply but it's shut down by the beeping from both of their pagers, grinding all conversation to a halt. They share a look and the brunette hurriedly leads the way to the pit. Whilst they pace their way through the hospital, Callie comes to the conclusion that Arizona has done a bit of snooping around about her and the thought automatically lights up her features.

Finally arriving to the 911 page, her face swiftly drops when she absorbs the injuries of a little girl in the trauma room. She's called Jessica and she was hit by an out of control car. Arizona wastes no time; she cuts through the swarm of surgeons and instantly takes charge, comforting the child and ordering residents around with confidence. Within seconds, Callie follows suit and manoeuvers her way around the blonde, catching that familiar scent every time she leans across Arizona to reach for something and amidst this chaotic setting, she's reminded of spring.

Moments later, they're in scrubs and wrist deep in surgery together. It's almost romantic.

The hurried atmosphere in the OR soon dissolves as they stabilise the six-year-old and Arizona takes a glance at Callie, who puts down a small surgical saw and stretches her neck.

"You really _don't_ have time to finish a magazine," She offers lightly and watches as brown eyes crease with a smile.

"Tell me about it." Callie replies with a light chuckle and plucks the offered scalpel out of Lexie's hand, nodding in gratitude at her initiative before taking a moment to look into blue eyes across the table.

"I never got a chance to congratulate you on your new job here, Dr. Robbins." Callie says with a smirk (she's grateful for the cover of the mask) and watches as the Peds surgeon's eyes light up. "I'm sure you had the chief eating out of your hand after that presentation." She can't suppress the childlike wonder out of her voice nor the flip her stomach performs when Arizona tilts her head bashfully.

"He _was_ pretty enthusiastic about me filling the position here," Arizona replies with an endearing amount of pride.

"So was I—I mean we _all_ were; right little Grey?" Callie almost rolls her eyes at herself and prays to god that Lexie diverts the attention away from her fumbling attempts at a compliment. Luckily for her, the resident is observant and genuinely intrigued by the work Arizona accomplished in Malawi.

"Yes… actually, Dr. Robbins – I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions about the haemothorax you came across whilst out in the field," Lexie delivers and Callie wonders why she isn't on her service more often – the tall brunette breathes a little easier until noticing that Arizona hasn't taken her eyes off of her throughout the exchange.

"You've read my publications? Of course you can. What would you like to know?" Arizona replies with honest excitement and drags her eyes slowly from the Latina and onto the smaller surgeon by her side.

Callie forgets how to breathe. It's quite embarrassing how much of an affect Arizona has on her.

As though being thrown a life line by the heavens, Meredith bursts through the doors and tells her she's required for another emergency surgery. Nodding in response and stepping back from the table, she turns to Arizona. "Do you need me?"

"Maybe, I'll let you know if anything changes." Arizona replies with a look in her eyes that makes Callie's chest tighten as delightfully as a child squeezing their favourite stuffed toy.

* * *

The cafeteria is rather dull without his best friend and all Mark can do is read up on some research to entertain him whilst he devours a giant pretzel. However, just as he begins craving a distraction, Holly waltzes in through the double doors. Once she decides on what to eat, he instantly waves her over to sit by him.

"How's it going Bayliss, cured Alzheimer's yet?" He asks with his head in his hands, literally batting his eyelids.

She chuckles loudly in response and takes a bite out of her unappealing sandwich hurriedly. No time to sit and toy with Mark when she has an impression to make at this hospital.

"Not quite yet, I'm doing a lot of surgeries though – Derek and his wife are busy tag-teaming the trial." Waving her hand around she doesn't bother to mask her envy.

Mark hums in thought, nodding slowly. "I see. How about we do some tag-teaming instead? I'm sure we could cure something else."

She has to admit, he _is_ thoroughly entertaining. "What would this entail? I mean we could just go ahead and cure cancer together, become rock star doctors and fuck each-others brains out in celebration." With that, Mark looks absolutely dumbfounded.

Pride doesn't even cover it; she managed to render the cocky plastic surgeon speechless and it feels good.

"Or not. I'm involved anyway and you're in love with Lexie." She punctuates her observation by plopping the last piece of the sandwich into her mouth.

"Well aren't you sharp?" Mark comments whilst narrowing his eyes and stroking his chin. "So who is it?"

"Who is what?"

"Which surgeon here are you banging?"

Holly's face stiffens and she shakes her head. "What makes you think I'm with someone that works here?"

Taking his time to answer, Mark smirks and leans in to declare his own observation. "You've moved across the entire country to accept a job here, you know fine well that long-distance crap like that doesn't work so it can't be a previous engagement. Plus, you're the type that needs intellectual stimulation in a relationship so it's most likely one of the surgeons here."

She's impressed.

"Oh god, is it Derek?" His face visibly blanches.

Standing up with a laugh, she checks her pager and takes one last glance at Mark. "I'll let you ponder that."

* * *

This shift has been one of the toughest yet for Callie. She should be having a few days off soon but the thought doesn't even cross her mind; too busy with planning future surgeries and worrying about the recoveries of her patients, she pinches the bridge of her nose and releases a heavy sigh.

To think that she was in this room, on the same couch, with the same magazine in front of her fourteen hours ago, thanking god for a slow day makes her air a bitter laugh. Her heart almost stops when she hears someone come into the room.

It's Lexie.

Though, the heat has already spread from her stomach and up onto her cheeks into a blush at the slight chance it was Arizona.

"Post-ops are done. Is there anything else?" She looks just as exhausted as Callie feels.

"No, no. Good job today, it's pretty tough to be on my service this time of year. You're a trooper little Grey." She understands why Mark is so forlorn over her, can't quite figure out why they don't get over their issues and just get together. Then again, her love life has been such a mess recently so who is she to judge.

Once her train of thought hits her love life, it continues on until her mind wanders back to Arizona. She barely knows a thing about this woman and yet, she just can't help but imagine scenarios where they may meet again and when. The eye contact they shared in the OR today was a little intense for mere acquaintance interaction – she's sure of it.

"How did the surgery with Jessica go, any problems after I left?" She realises she has no idea how the little girl is (or if she's needed again for a standard check-up – where she may just run into her current obsession).

"There was a small complication but Robbins had it under control." Lexie says after a beat and thinks to herself. "Actually, she said she might need your second opinion on something that came up on the x-ray."

Callie attempts to downplay her sudden perkiness but it's like trying to stop an earthquake with bits of tape. Clearing her throat, she quickly dismisses Lexie and gets changed. Before she knows it, she finds herself in the Peds department.

Jessica looks serene. As serene as a child can be with her body plugged into several beeping machines and an IV drip. For a long moment, she admires what Arizona and all paediatric surgeons do – it's difficult enough caring and worrying over patients, but for those said patients to be young and innocent children; she's not sure she could do it on a daily basis.

_Speak of the devil. _Callie muses in her head, smelling that floral perfume once again and turning to see Arizona standing by her side – now also watching the small child through the window pane. She can't help but swallow thickly when the blonde returns her gaze, the corners of her lips lifting.

"Lexie said you needed a second opinion on something?" Callie hates that she can't think of anything other than this to say. All planned conversational topics and ice-breakers disappear when it's time to deliver.

What makes things worse is that Arizona looks at her with a blank look on her face, utterly confused.

That's when Callie realises just how observational and clever Lexie really is. It had been a lie, a way to kick Callie into gear and actually approach Arizona.

"Not really, she must've mistaken me for someone else. You two had a pretty rough shift today from what she told me." The blonde reasons whilst tilting her head to the side and paying more attention to Callie's out of work outfit.

The taller woman shuffles her feet and opens her mouth to say something but swiftly thinks against it. Instead, she takes a deep breath in and abruptly turns to Arizona once more; "Yeah, we did. I'm exhausted. See you around?"

The blonde replies with a nod and watches as Callie quickly walks towards the hospital lobby.

* * *

Finally lying in bed, her limbs feel like they're made of cement and her head spins. She's trying to sleep but her worries about earlier surgeries float on the surface of her thoughts – let alone the embarrassing attempt to speak to Arizona at the end of her day. Burying her head deeper into her pillows, she finally falls asleep and dreams of spring time.

* * *

Arizona finishes her last chart and glances at the time, sighing. Taking this role on at the hospital has been a bomb of paperwork that rivals the initial amount she had to fill out before flying to Malawi and _that _almost made her quit being a surgeon all together. She changes out of her navy scrubs and does her routine patrol through her department to make sure all is well before heading to the hotel.

She hates renting cars but with the enormous amount of work she's been piled with on her first week, she hasn't even had time to look for an apartment let alone a form of transport. It takes her half an hour longer to get to her room because of the snow on the roads and once she crawls into her freezing bed – her mind briefly wonders how Holly is doing on her nightshift.

Their relationship has been going better than she had expected, the light and easy dynamic hasn't changed much; in fact all that has shifted is that they're sleeping together again. Though, for Arizona it sometimes feels like a friends with benefits agreement, she'll admit they've both been too busy with work to put enough effort into their budding relationship.

She isn't sure when her thoughts drifted from one brunette to another but the twinge of guilt in her chest is acknowledged. Still, she wonders about Callie and it's the last thing on her mind before she falls asleep.

For the first time in weeks, she doesn't wake up in the middle of the night in a panic.


	6. Out Of Order

**I became inspired to type up my next chapter pretty swiftly when my internet went down and motivation struck. To those of you enquiring as to why Arizona and Holly got together; I don't see why they wouldn't? I mean we all know life doesn't always pan out as expected; besides, Holly is a witty and pretty neurosurgeon. She's just not Callie and that's why you may not like it. Life is a box of chocolates after all and every so often you plop one of those nasty coffee flavoured monstrosities into your mouth and once you realise what you've done, it's too late. Perhaps you can apply that metaphor to Arizona's current predicament.**

* * *

Her Heelys always collected a variety of curious stares from pretty much all passers-by. Little does she care; the children love them and they're practical too – she has places to be after all. Grabbing her chart off the nurse's desk, Arizona zooms towards the surgical timetable where she finds Callie scheduling in another operation and shaking her head.

Arizona now happily employed for little over a month at the hospital, has gotten to know the majority of the staff – Callie in particular. More so than the brunette knows, due to her impeccable detective skills: the discovery of her full name has been her greatest achievement yet, much to Callie's dismay. They've engaged in easy banter for weeks now; the Ortho surgeon usually being in a terrible mood due to her monstrous schedule and Arizona persistently trying to cheer her up with an infinite amount of ways. Upon asking the blonde why she continuously attempted to brighten her days, she informed Callie that since her arrival, she hadn't met a single surgeon that worked as hard as she did - plus she was the first to clap during her presentation. So it was settled. Callie doesn't mind, in fact, she secretly loves it but she wasn't going to reveal that to the blonde.

"Calliope! Hello." Arizona rolls up to her friend and earns a narrow glare.

"I told you I don't associate with people that wear those things." Looking back at the board, she sighs and fixes a spelling mistake. She's so tired she can't even spell – a nap is definitely next on her to do list before she goes into surgery.

After a stern talking to from Mark, Callie has learnt to control her tendencies to be a "fumbling idiot" around Arizona, as he so nicely put it. To her surprise, it worked. She finally plucked up the courage to speak to the woman properly and learnt that she isn't so scary after all… to a certain extent. It by no means deterred the feeling in her stomach whenever their paths crossed at the hospital but at least now they could have a simple conversation without her running away in embarrassment.

Completely ignoring the jab at her footwear, Arizona spins on her heel and wipes the surgery she just performed off the board. "You'll be in a better mood soon, the snow is melting."

Callie merely grunts in response and mumbles something along the lines of "I guess." Though, her smile betrays her as she watches Arizona draw a little flower beside her next surgery.

"I have prepping to do, don't break yourself, Schumacher." With that, she leaves the perky woman to her devices and heads down to her patient.

She's unsure of what exactly is going on between them, sometimes their conversations are light and flirty – other times, Arizona makes it abundantly clear that they're fantastic friends and most definitely only that. Callie can't quite put her finger on it but with each day that passes, her feelings grudgingly grow for the blonde but at the moment, she's enjoying the slither in her day where she gets to forget all the painfully long surgeries Seattle has to offer and gets to appreciate shimmering blue eyes instead.

* * *

Arizona rubs her temples slowly whilst trying to analyse the chart of a little boy that died on her table just twenty odd minutes ago. She's in a horrible mood now and there's nothing to stop her rage from being unleashed onto the rest of the world. Unfortunately, she's already snapped at her nurses and Karev but luckily for her, they've given her the benefit of the doubt.

However, when Holly slides up behind her and pokes her sides before standing daringly close, she almost recoils and shoots daggers with her blue eyes.

"What?" The brunette leans back, asking with fiery tone and a concerned look. It only serves to irritate Arizona further. They had decided to keep their relationship quiet, neither of them wanting to be cast off as a part of the two new lesbian lovers of Seattle Grace but rather be known for their surgical prowess.

"You're being obvious and I'm just in a really bad mood." Arizona is swiftly losing her patience, not only with the current shenanigans but with their relationship all together. Something just isn't right, maybe it would have worked the first time they tried but not now – it seemed to be more of a comfort thing, being in a new city with new co-workers, something had to be familiar. Though in retrospect, it wasn't such a good idea. She had the feeling Holly knew it too, but they continue to try nonetheless. Arizona doesn't like to even ponder the possibility that her friendship with Callie is having such an effect on her that it's jarring whatever is going on in her relationship.

"You didn't get much sleep last night, again." She can tell Holly is also losing her patience. Arizona's frequent nightmares and struggles to sleep have been haunting the communication in their relationship – the blonde refusing to discuss the matter entirely. "Besides, I thought we could start telling people about us now, it's been long enough."

This suggestion makes Arizona's skin crawl. She instantly thinks of Callie and it furthers her terrible mood, the guilt. Not wanting to start an argument, she simply closes the folder she had open and shoots Holly a look – ending the conversation and walking away briskly.

Besides, she's got a little boy's parents to comfort. With this in mind, her sunny disposition quickly weakens by the minute.

How could this day have turned so bad, so quickly?

* * *

Callie bursts into a lounge after her successful surgery and bounds to the coffee machine, noticing Arizona sitting deflated on the seat in the corner a few steps in. For a moment, she's sure it's someone else. As long as she's known the blonde, there has been nothing but dimples and excited eyes that graced her features, aside from the one or two stressful cases that is. This, however, is a whole other demeanour. Arizona's shoulders are slumped and her eyes vacant.

Since joining the hospital, the Peds surgeon has been cheering her up consistently and now that the situation seems to have reversed, Callie feels a little out of her depth. She approaches Arizona nonetheless; her heart aches to see her like this.

"Are you okay?" She's careful with her movements, almost feeling as though she's cornering a small baby deer, _Bambi_ even. It strikes her then, how vulnerable Arizona can look once her bubbly personality is taken away. When their eyes meet, she realises this is more than just a bad day at work.

"Yeah—I, no, I'm not." She stammers out and sighs, running her hand through golden locks harshly. "I'm so tired Calliope."

The brunette nods in return, attempting to understand what is going on. The tone of Arizona's voice implies that simple exhaustion due to work isn't the case here and her heart continues to break; hopelessly beginning to notice just how emotionally involved she's become with this woman.

"I can't sleep; I never thought this would be one of the most difficult things to do – sleep." Arizona angrily wipes a tear from her cheek and turns to look at the gorgeous woman by her side.

"Why can't you sleep?" Her questions lightly pulling Arizona out of her well-constructed shell.

A moment of silence blankets them as the blonde furrows her eyebrows and becomes lost amidst her thoughts and internal battles. Ever so slightly, she mumbles something about Malawi and it takes strain to hear just the one word.

Callie has been suspecting something slightly off about what had occurred in Africa over the past week. She couldn't place her suspicions on any direct evidence, because from what everyone saw, Arizona is always the bouncy and excited woman who attempts to save the world, one sick child at a time. Though every so often, there is a crack of something dark underneath the surface when she constantly has to repeat her stories of what happened in the village. Something just wasn't quite right. It daunts on her that maybe she's managed to acquire a certain skill to decipher what kind of excited and bouncy Arizona can be, sometimes genuine, other times not. Callie had no idea she knew this woman so well.

"Why _did_ you come back two years early?" She often pondered this question, but something deep down prevented her from asking.

Arizona merely looks up at her with red eyes, glazed over with exhaustion. It's enough to make Callie want to cry.

"I lost a little boy called Jeremy today, he was only seven. He reminded me so much of a kid I was treating back in Africa." The blonde manages to steel herself and continues taking forcefully steady breaths until she can continue, Callie's arm now tightly around her shoulders – urging her to continue and let out the obvious burden haunting her.

"I fought so hard for him, you know? One of those cases." She shakes her head at herself whilst opening gates in her memory that she had tightly locked and pushed away by any means necessary. "He had such a tough life, so I did everything I could to make him better and he _was_ getting better."

Arizona focuses on the small circles being rubbed into her shoulder blades and throws Callie an appreciative look before continuing.

"The day his mother told me her husband was involved in a serious gang war, was the day I watched that little innocent boy have his throat slit." Her tone is monotonous, as though this memory has been circling in her mind constantly since it occurred, leaving only a shell of a reaction behind.

Callie gasps and chastises herself for doing so. Tightening her grip around the smaller woman, she pulls Arizona's head under her chin and tries to bat her own tears away with her eyelids. She's no stranger to violence of this nature; her stint in Botswana revealed just how horrible things can get on this planet but it didn't mean that it ever dampened the emotional turmoil that it ignited within her.

She holds Arizona close as she cries, praying that either of their pagers don't go off. When the sobs begin to subside, she strokes blonde hair gently and stays put. Eventually, Mark wanders into the room and widens his eyes before being told to leave with a quick hand movement from Callie, making sure that Arizona is left undisturbed. She's fallen asleep in her arms.

They both wake up with a jolt when Callie's pager goes off; checking the time, she's astounded to find that they've been asleep and lying on the couch for over two hours. It seems as though they both deserved a well-earned nap. Arizona suddenly sits up and rubs at her eyes looking embarrassed at her earlier meltdown, throwing Callie an apologetic look.

The brunette wishes she knew what to say but all she's capable of doing is leaning in and giving Arizona a firm hug, letting her know full well that she's here for her. Upon the shrill beep of her pager once more, she woefully breaks the physical contact and stands, straightening her lab coat.

"Are you okay?" Her hand doesn't stop itself from cupping Arizona's cheek and the moment is more intimate than intended as the blonde's eyes flutter shut.

She nods in response and offers a genuine smile, regaining a small sparkle in her eyes. With that, Callie runs her thumb down Arizona's face and lifts her chin slightly before flashing her a reassuring grin, heading off to her surgery.

The Latina laughs at the handmade 'out of order' sign stuck to the door, unmistakably in Mark's handwriting. It explains why nobody had walked in on them snuggled up together on the couch. She makes a mental note to thank him profusely for being a sweetheart when she needs him to be.

* * *

Arizona takes a few moments to gather herself before heading out to check on her patients. She's not sure what her emotions are doing anymore or why she let herself unfold like that to Callie but she has to admit she feels a lot better than she did a few hours ago.

The trouble is; she should have confessed her troubles to her girlfriend slash best friend of however many years instead of somebody that she met a month ago. This, she concludes is the nail in the coffin for their relationship – her and Holly had to finish. Her feelings for Callie can no longer be bundled away like this, it is unfair on everyone and her psychological state is in no shape to handle dramatic woman-warfare.

Had she known things would develop like this between her and Callie, she would've avoided getting involved with Holly again as though it were a hot poker aiming for her ass – which is exactly how this situation is described in Arizona's mind. However, it wasn't as though she could've predicted all this. Upon overhearing a few nurses gossip and discovering that Callie had been in a relationship with Erica Hahn previously, she managed to drop her charts and damn near fall over herself trying to pick them up… from a standing position at that. Even Karev was impressed with her ability to be super clumsy. Things just continuously caught her off guard. Especially Callie.

Arizona winces once more, realising that she had a full scale meltdown right in front of her. She's thankful for the long surgery ahead of her; being busy is necessary for times like this.

* * *

Mark catches sight of Callie and moves to catch up with her brisk pace, coffee in hand.

Her pace slows when he reaches her and although she can't stop entirely to talk to him, she quickly kisses him on the cheek and he looks astonished at the sudden gesture.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" He notices she's walking towards an OR and decides to hand her his coffee.

"You're a good best friend. When you want to be." She answers with a smile and waves her newly acquired drink as if it's evidence, taking a quick sip.

"I like to think you keep me around for more than just my good looks," Mark airs casually and tugs at her arm just before she is about to enter the surgery. "What was that back there, in the lounge with blondie?"

Callie looks at him for a moment and presses her lips together before handing him his coffee back. "She was just upset." Once again, Mark comes through for her when he simply nods in understanding and leaves it at that - patting her on the ass when she turns to go into the OR.

She's forever grateful for him.

* * *

Arizona pushes Holly into a storage cupboard the first instance she gets, having worked up the courage to do this – it was now or never, her day couldn't get much worse so what the hell. She begins to gently go through the motions of a break-up speech but the brunette is quick to shoot her down, kicking off a fight within minutes and this is exactly what Arizona was trying to avoid by planning her words carefully. She should've known better; Holly doesn't sugar coat anything nor accept it anyone else doing so.

It turns into a full scale blow out and the blonde buries her face in her hands, she really doesn't have the energy for this.

"You're always so adamant about being open and proud, yet you've been doing everything to hide this relationship since we got here!" She has to hand it to Holly, it's a good point. Even though keeping it quiet had been the neurosurgeon's idea, Arizona has had no objections to keeping things entirely hushed (for reasons she definitely doesn't want to get into right now).

"We'll continue this after work. Okay?" With that, Arizona turns and marches out of the room; she doesn't enjoy abruptly leaving like this but she's finding herself doing so more and more often.

One surgery later, she's not entirely surprised to find out that gossip of a lovers tiff between her and Holly in the storage room has spread like wildfire throughout the hospital. As if this day couldn't get any worse – everything she had been trying to avoid by painful confrontation has ended up happening anyway. _The truth always gets out_; she chides to herself in her head and instantly worries about where she might find Callie.

This is where wheels on shoes come in handy.

* * *

It's been a good day for Orthopaedics: Callie has successfully operated on two previously thought hopeless cases and she is starting to feel like a miracle worker with a scalpel. She aims to continue her productive streak by tracking down Arizona and ensuring that all is well after her startling catharsis earlier.

She spots Alex scrawling something onto his chart with an impatient look on his face.

"Hey, have you seen Arizona anywhere?" Peeking down at what he's writing, she can barely make out a single word – how the blonde manages to read anything he notes is beyond her.

"Huh? I haven't seen her for a while. She's probably making out with Bayliss somewhere." A lecherous smirk spreads across his face when he looks up at Callie and her eyebrows twist in confusion; she knows he can be unnecessarily dirty at times (being friends with Mark, she's overly comfortable with this type of behaviour) but even this seems out of character for Karev.

"What are you talking about?" She scoffs and laughs shallowly to herself, a sudden knife twisting in her stomach at the implications of his off-hand comment.

"They were having an argument in one of the rooms, a bunch of people overheard. They were together this whole time apparently." He shakes his head and chuckles to himself, clearly enjoying the newest stream of gossip whilst finishing his charts.

Callie's legs go weak and her eyebrows lift slowly in shock, the colour in her cheeks fading.

This doesn't make sense. She knows fine well what the hospital can be like; anyone's love life easily becomes some kind of toy for all the doctors to play with. After her unceremonious experiences with the gossip surrounding her relationships with George and Erica – she swiftly takes to Arizona's defence. Reasoning that the blonde would have at least told her. Besides, they didn't even seem like a couple; best friends, yes but not a couple. No way.

So why does her body feel like it's preparing for an impending catastrophe?

Shaking her head at herself, she heads to Joe's.


End file.
